Yakov Smushkevich

Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich (14 April 1902-28 October 1941) was the Commander of the Soviet Air Force from 1939 to 1940, succeeding Aleksandr Loktionov and preceding Pavel Rychagov.

Biography
Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich was born on 14 April 1902 in Rokiskis in present-day Lithuania to a family of Lithuanian Jews in the Russian Empire. He joined the Red Army in 1918 and fought in the Russian Civil War, and under the nom de guerre of "General Duglas", Smushkevich took part in the Spanish Civil War as an International Brigades leader. He commanded the Soviet aviation forces at the 1939 Battle of Khalkin Gol during the Soviet-Japanese Border War, and from 1939 to 1940 he served as the commander of the Soviet Air Force after his predecessor Aleksandr Loktionov was arrested in Joseph Stalin's 1941 purge of the air force. On 28 October 1941, he was executed by firing squad for treason during the purge.